Monday, September 28, 2009

Often in moments of discouragement or depression, it's easy to feel that your life is going nowhere or that change is impossible. But it's simply not true! Take a minute to think back over your life. Chances are, you'll see a lot of growth in all of your formative areas. From childish playing, to youthful impulsiveness and adult reasoning, life sure has taken you on a rollercoaster hasn't it? When you were young, someone probably asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. If someone posed that same question to you now, what would you say? Let this reflection be an indicator of your dreams.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.~Unknown

Taking the more difficult road to success

www,sparkspeople.com

Cheating to get ahead might get you the grade or promotion, but in the long run it really sets you back. Intelligence, creativity, hard work, and solid character--the things that propel you forward--are not fostered by taking the easy way out. You don't earn anything by short-cutting your work. You're only cutting your potential short. Sure you might feel relieved that a stressful task has passed, but an undeserving sense of relief doesn't compare to the gratification of knowing that you completed your own work. If something in your life is difficult, meet it head on and earn the satisfaction of earning a job well done--with honesty and integrity.

Friday, September 11, 2009

This was sent to me by the newsletter "The New Orleans Agenda" published by Vicent Sylvain of New Orleans. Interesting story and there is irony in this...

Fight Heats up over DiscriminatoryHousing Laws in New Orleans area Alice Walker, Oprah Winfrey,and President Obama are pulled into local battle By Jordan Flaherty NEW ORLEANS (9/11/09)- Rebuilding efforts in St. Bernard Parish, asmall community just outside New Orleans, have recently gotten a major boost.One nonprofit focused on rebuilding in the area has received the endorsement ofCNN, Alice Walker, the touring production of the play The Color Purple, and evenPresident Obama. But an alliance of Gulf Coast and national organizations arenow raising questions about the cause these high profile names are supporting.The dispute focuses on the responsibility of relief organizations to speak outagainst injustice in the communities in which they work. Since September of2006, St. Bernard Parish has been aggressive in passing racially discriminatorylaws and ordinances. Although these laws have faced condemnation in Federalcourt and in the media, rebuilding organizations active in the parish have sofar refused to take a public position. Racial discrimination has a long history in St.Bernard politics. Judge Leander Perez, a fiery leader who dominated the parishfor almost 50 years, was known nationally as a spokesman for racial segregation.The main road through the Parish was named after Perez, and his legacy still hasa hold on the political scene there. Lynn Dean, a member of the St Bernardparish council told reporter Lizzy Ratner, "They don't want the blacks back . .. What they'd like to do now with Katrina is say, we'll wipe out all of them.They're not gonna say that out in the open, but how do you say? Actions speaklouder than words. There's their action." The action Lynn was referencing is a "bloodrelative" ordinance the council passed in 2006. The law made it illegal forParish homeowners to rent to anyone not directly related to the renter. In StBernard, which was 85% white before Katrina hit, this effectively kept AfricanAmericans, many of whom were still displaced from New Orleans and looking fornearby housing, from moving in. The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing ActionCenter sued the Parish, saying the ordinance violated the 1968 Fair Housing Act.A judge agreed, saying it was racially discriminatory in intent and impact. Thestory doesn't end there. St. Bernard's government agreed to a settlement, butthe illegal ordinance was followed by another, blocking multi-familyconstruction in the Parish. month, U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan foundthe Parish to be in contempt of court, saying, "The Parish Council's intent . .. is and was racially discriminatory." An editorial in the New OrleansTimes-Picayune agreed, saying, "This ruling strips off the camouflage andreveals St. Bernard's actions for what they really are: an effort to keep lower-income people and African-Americans from moving into the mostly white parish."Relief Work Questioned St. Bernard Parish was heavily damaged by flooding in theaftermath of Katrina. Thirteen percent of households lived below the federalpoverty line, and every home took in water. Many organizations and volunteers have comethrough to volunteer time and donate money, including United Way, SalvationArmy, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. An organization called the St.Bernard Project, which was founded in 2006 by two transplants from Washington,DC, has become one of the most high profile organizations active in the region,with millions of dollars in corporate and individual donations and thousands ofvolunteers. This has been a big couple of weeks for the St. Bernard Project. On August 29, President Obama mentioned them inhis weekly address, saying, "The St. Bernard Project has drawn togethervolunteers to rebuild hundreds of homes, where people can live with dignity andsecurity." Last week, the touring production of the Broadway show The ColorPurple, produced by Oprah Winfrey, announced that they will be raising money forthe organization, and that author Alice Walker will be personally participatingin the fundraising. Last year, CNN named co-founder Liz McCartney itsHero of the Year. But this national acclamation has only increased criticisms ofthe work happening in the Parish. Lance Hill, the executive director of theSouthern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University, first raisedhis voice on the issue in 2006, after the ordinance was passed. Hill is quick topoint out that he is not against rebuilding work in the Parish. However, headds, "If they chose to rebuild homes that Blacks and Jews would be barred from,at a minimum they have a moral obligation to inform volunteers of the policiesof the Parish. To not do so is to mislead volunteers and donors and to becomecomplicit with racism." Hill is also one of the signatories of an openletter, released this week, which expresses deep concerns over rebuildingefforts in the parish. "Regrettably, many relief and volunteer organizationschose not to respond to the 'blood relative' law, remaining silent on thisissue," the letter states. "With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that St.Bernard Parish officials interpreted silence as consent, which has nowemboldened this rogue government to pursue other means to defy the Fair HousingAct." Organizers say that the letter is intended topressure organizations to think about larger issues of injustice as they work inthe region. "It is time that we take a stand against housing discrimination inSt. Bernard and throughout the Gulf Coast," the letter states. "And make clearwhat the moral imperatives are for all organizations that seek to rebuild theGulf Coast as a fair and just society." Among the signers of the letter are human rightsorganizations like the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, regionalgroups like Moving Forward Gulf Coast, and local initiatives like MayDay Nola,which works on housing in New Orleans. Zack Rosenburg, the cofounder of St.Bernard Project, is angered by the complaints of Hill and others. "We are not anadvocacy group and we're not commenting on that," he told me, referring to thelaws of the Parish. "We're helping people get home." Rosenburg added that atleast 30% of the families they have worked with have been African American, andhe asked me to "think about the Black families who are living in FEMA trailersand want to move home, before writing this piece . . . try to build things upinstead of pulling things down." Lance Hill and other advocates claim that workingon relief without challenging systemic injustices actually exacerbates theproblem. They point out that the number of houses rebuilt for African Americansin the community - perhaps two hundred at the most, if you include allnonprofits working in the area - pales in comparison to the thousands that havepotentially been excluded by the laws of the parish. "The main reason that these relief groups havehad to disproportionately rebuild Black rentals," explains Hill, "is because theParish is tearing down or blocking construction of affordable housing fasterthan the relief groups can rebuild." "This is why this issue in St. Bernard hastroubled me so much," adds Hill. "Exclusion is at the core of the injustices ofKatrina. The deliberate efforts to prevent people from returning and the denialthat these policies and practices were in place has been the central issue. Theexclusionary ideology that was widespread in the white community in New Orleansbecame law in St. Bernard." Organizers hope that the multiple levels ofpressure will ultimately challenge elected officials in St. Bernard Parish tomake the area an example of rebuilding with justice for all. "Our silencedoesn't help anybody," says Hill. "It destroys more than the relief groups canever dream of building." Jordan Flaherty is a journalist, an editor ofLeft Turn Magazine, and a staffer with the Louisiana Justice Institute. He wasthe first writer to bring the story of the Jena Six to a national audience andhis reporting on post-Katrina New Orleans shared a journalism award from NewAmerica Media. Audiences around the world have seen the television reports he'sproduced for Al- Jazeera, TeleSur, GritTV, and Democracy Now. He can be reached at neworleans@leftturn.org.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.

With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!

Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy?

1.Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2.Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3.Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4.Give more.

5.Expect less

Nowback to the donkey...

The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.Now don't get upset folks, that word is in the Bible. At least some versions....

If you think twice before speaking once, you will speak twice the better for it.- William Penn

Think twice, speak once

The idea of choosing your words carefully sounds easy enough, but how many times do you end up with your foot in your mouth? Everyone can probably recall a situation where someone offended them by saying something rude or out of line. These comments are not only embarrassing, but they can also damage relationships. Even the way you talk to yourself can be hurtful. Instead of saying "I can't," replace it with "I wish." Swap "I'm a failure" with "I didn't succeed this time." If you say the wrong thing in front of others, chances are that people will remember it. Wouldn't you prefer to be remembered for something more positive? Once you have said something out loud it cannot be taken back, and rarely can it be undone even with a tremendous amount of work.

Je suis la Lune~I am Moon

JACQUELYN HUGHES MOONEY Visual Poet/Lecturer/Idealist-Dreamer/Seasoned Storytelling Woman creating vibrant, jazzy, contemporary, quilted textile collages, shaped her "rhythm & views" with daydreams, books, dollhouses & coloring books with exuberance packing a NOLa vibe with a West Coast groove!
She will challenge the beholder to embrace the world with fire & passion, often incorporate in the quilts, poetry & storytelling divergent patterns that can whisper or shout a compelling story. She want for people to appreciate that even "mistakes"/imperfections/ raw edges can have a beauty of its own.
Highly empathetic & intuitive, her sensitivity to others' plights is tempered with her belief that every person deserves dignity & respect which is the roots of her Fig Tree Project. With her mes affaires belle (my beautiful belongings), Jacquelyn is
very interpretive, ageless, spatial ,centered, meaningful in her art can/is be all things to all people.
Rhythm & Hues beats, hums, sings and speaks ...
It poses, profiles, winks, smiles and smirks ...
It all but breathes ...
But then it does that, too.